The USTA announced last week its plans for a sweeping transformation of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that will include building a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the construction of two new stadiums.

The transformation will be implemented in three phases to begin at the conclusion of the 2013 U.S. Open, with the goal of overall completion by the 2018 U.S. Open. The completion of the retractable roof for Arthur Ashe Stadium is scheduled for August 2017.

“We have been working toward a viable design for a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium for more than a decade,” said USTA chairman and president Dave Haggerty. “We feel that we now have a design that meets the criteria of being architecturally sound, aesthetically pleasing, reasonably affordable, and buildable.”

In addition to the roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium, phase one of construction is scheduled to include the shifting of the existing practice courts and two tournament courts to the north.

Phase two of the transformation will be anchored by the construction of a new 8,000-seat Grandstand Stadium in the southwest quadrant of the Tennis Center.

The project’s final phase will include the construction of a new 15,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium. The targeted completion date of the stadium, which will be built “roof-ready,” is August 2018.

“We have an aggressive construction agenda for the entire National Tennis Center,” said Gordon Smith, USTA executive director.

Tthe facility will be able to accommodate an extra 10,000 people each day during the US Open, increasing attendance by approximately 100,000 new visitors.